The Dimensional Traveler's Guide To Rainbows, And Other Troubles

by benxlabs

Chapter 6: The Sun Shines Bright But The Rain Pours On

Chapter 6: The Sun Shines Bright But The Rain Pours On

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Like a poorly made movie, the world faded in and out. Color turned to black and then to color again as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Every attempt was a herculean effort, for it felt as if my eyelids were magnets, pulling each other together with an impossibly strong attraction. Perhaps I had turned into a lump of metal. I certainly felt like a useless piece of trash. My muscles screamed with pain with the slightest movement, and the air scratched my dry lungs.

What's happening...

Meh...thinking is such a pain...

So much work...

And I'm just so tired...

My consciousness slipped every now and then, but I was soon jarred back into wakefulness by the rhythmic steps of my mount. How shameful. I was being carried about like some pathetic princess, and by a girl no less. Oh well. I could care less. What a drag.

I was still only vaguely aware of my surroundings when I was enveloped in the warm embraces of my bed. As sleep finally overtook me, I could only sigh wearily, content to do nothing but lay there.

---

The ponies of the small village known as Ponyville slowly shrank until they became ants, bustling about a town the size of a dollhouse. As I continued to rise through the air, suspended in a magical bubble, my gaze wandered, observing the world that was falling further and further away. I should have been scared. I should have been terrified. I had always been scared of heights. But I wasn't scared. I felt strangely calm, as if nothing could go wrong no matter what.

It was just then that I realized I wasn't alone in the sky. As a familiar shadow fell upon me, I turned to set my eyes upon the royal visage of Princess Celestia. Her pure form, dignified and majestic, rose up into the sky along with me. Her crown and amulet glistened with the golden light of the Solstice Sun. She seemed to radiate with power and authority, so much that I felt an intense desire to avert my eyes, as I would to the blinding rays of our own sun.

Celestia's horn glowed with her celestial magic, manipulating the deluge of energy present in the sun. As she focused her magic in ways that I could not comprehend, the sun began pulsating. Like a beating heart, the sun expanded and contracted in a steady rhythm, seemingly attuned to Celestia's pulse. I was hypnotized by the steady beat as I gazed in awe at the sun. Each pulse seemed to increase in strength, each beat seemed to create a bigger ripple in the sky, until even I could feel the heat from the waves emanating from the sun.

Perhaps the first warning signs of imminent disaster should have registered in my mind when I could actually feel the heat from one of the pulses coming from the sun, but I was in my own bubble, floating above all of the world. In the sky, I was in my own world, completely separated from the physical plane. What could go wrong?

But everything could go wrong. My eyes widened as a curved loop of incandescent gas peeled off from the sun and whipped out, lashing towards us. All was not lost in my heart, as I turned towards Celestia. This must all have been part of the plan. She was biting her bottom lip, eyes squeezed shut. Her wings fluttered uncertainly as she bobbed up and down in the air. Her crown was slightly skewed from her exertions; she was clearly making an effort to maintain her magic as well as remain airborne.

I watched and waited, but she did nothing to stall, stop, or otherwise nullify the terrifying wave of energy hurtling towards us. I felt as if I was being microwaved from the inside. My mouth dropped open as Celestia was hit by the solar flare. Her eyes shot open, glowing bright like two miniature suns. As the searing light rolled over me, I felt my magical bubble pop and I fell screaming towards the land below.

---

"No!" I yelled, frantically reaching out in front of me, desperately trying to grab on to something, anything.

I did end up grabbing on to something.

Both my hands grabbed onto something.

Or rather, some things.

Things that were soft and squishy.

And warm.

Some place, somewhere in my brain, must have registered how dire my situation was, but it didn't consciously occur to me that I was doomed.

Something slammed into the side of my face, smashing my head into the depths of my pillow. The pain was enough to bring me back to my senses.

"Why in the world are you in my room again, Rainbow Dash?" I demanded, sitting up and massaging my sore cheek. I hoped that it wouldn't leave a mark for too long. But I received no response from the rainbow-haired girl sitting on my bed. She was wearing my hoodie, but had not zipped the front, exposing her blue t-shirt underneath. Although she had probably been facing me, her face was now turned away. I couldn't see her expression, but I assumed it was one of taunting, like her usual self. I was about to repeat my question when I realized that my room didn't have a generic desk and chair sitting next to a window. Wait, was this the guest room?

"Okay, correction. What in the world am I doing in your room?" I was even more confused now. It was bad enough that she broke into my room to wake me up, but now she was dragging me into her room just so she could wake me up?

"Say..." She began to turn her face towards me. There was a strange uncertainty in her voice, uncharacteristically so. Perhaps she was trying out a new joke for the first time, and she wasn't sure of how it would be received. I braced myself for whatever insult she was preparing to toss my way.

"What does it mean when someone..." by now her face was clearly visible, and I did not like what I saw. Her cheeks were flushed, and she held her clasped hands in her lap, folding and unfolding them. Her gaze was directed towards the ground, never looking me in the eyes.

"What does it mean when someone...when someone...." she stuttered and squeezed her eyes shut. "What does it mean when someone grabs your chest?"

Stunned silence.

More stunned silence.

Now it's becoming awkward.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. Warm, squishy, soft. Squeeze. My mouth dropped open. Did that really just happen?

"W-w--w-wwell, um, you see-" I hastily rolled out of bed, jumping backwards a few steps towards the wall. I coughed a few times to clear my throat, before straightening myself, standing as upright as possible. Assuming a scholarly pose, I folded my hands behind my back.

"In general, this behavior is regarded as an outright way to express your sexual interest in a female. How the female responds to this behavior varies greatly, but as you demonstrated, the natural reaction is to engage self-defense measures against such unwarranted demonstrations of affection.

Although I am sure that you are already aware-" I stopped for a moment as I saw Rainbow Dash's face turn red once again. I guess she really is naive, huh? All that bragging, and she can't even handle some talk about sexual harassment.

"Although I am sure that you are already aware, my motivations behind my actions were completely different than described previously." I paused for dramatic effect, and noticing Dash's perplexed stare, I raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a question?"

"Whaddya mean by all that fancy talk? Just tell it to me straight, could ya?"

"Uh, well, I guess in simpler terms, what I'm trying to say is, well, I didn't mean to do what I did, and I know that you know that I know that...erm, wait, let me start over- I know that you know that I didn't mean to do what I did, because face it. I hate you, I know you hate me, we're pretty screwed as far as I can see. I'm sorry for causing you trouble, but let's just forget that it ever happened, okay?" I eagerly leaned forward, awaiting her response. Knowing her, I was sure that she would quickly agree that I was a pathetic idiot and she knew that I was just being stupid as usual.

"So you didn't mean to, huh..." Her response surprised me. She was really that dumb? I was about to launch into another speech reexplaining exactly what I was trying to say, but I was forced to abort my lecture when I saw her touching her chest again.

"Rainbow Dash! What did I tell you about doing that?" I rushed forward, pulling her arms apart and away.

Rainbow Dash didn't respond. She seemed to be looking off into the distance, somewhere beyond the bounds of reality.

"Does it really matter..." Instead of an energetic rebuttal, I was disheartened to hear only an apathetic reply. Her lack of energy was concerning me. Had the run burned her out after all? Was she suffering from some kind of chronic disease?

"What are you talking about? Of course it matters! I'm trying to help you! Do you want people to think you're some kind of pervert?"

"I don't care what they think about me...I don't care..."

"Listen to me! I know you don't care about anything, not this world, not your body, not me, and I don't care about you either! But it makes me cringe to see you do all these dumb things just because you don't know they're wrong. Do you understand?"

"You're wrong...I-"

"No, listen to me, Rainbow Dash! Just do what I tell you, and we'll be fine and dandy. One day you'll go back to Equestria, and then we can both live our lives normally! Just do what I say, please!"

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She quickly turned her head away, squeezing her fists until her knuckles became white and her arms shook. I was at the end of my rope. What was wrong with her?

"Y-" She uttered a single syllable before she seemed to choke on her own word. Her shoulders were trembling now, and I was seriously ready to call a doctor.

"You-" She managed to squeeze out an entire word. If Rainbow Dash was a brand of toothpaste, I would not buy it, even if it was rainbow colored. It took way too much effort to squeeze anything out.

"You...IDIOT!" She finally managed to yell out the last word. My eyes widened. Here was the insult I had been anticipating, but it seemed to be a bit out of the context I was expecting. Her eyes were glistening, glistening from tears.

"Wha-" I couldn't think of anything to say. There was definitely something wrong with her. Rainbow Dash? Crying? Never. I must be hallucinating. But of course, it's a bit hard to trick yourself into thinking that you're hallucinating when the subject in question shoves her way past you and out the door before running down the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door.

Wait...she just left...she just ran away...she...left... As my thoughts finally caught up to my racing mind, apathy and weariness once again claimed my muscles and bones. Why should I care? I've done enough for her as it is. She'll be back. She's just...I don't know...I don't know anymore... I l dragged my battered body back to my room where I launched myself onto my bed. Closing my eyes, I allowed myself the luxury of a quick nap. She'd be back before dinner.

A soft knocking at my door woke me from my rest, and I was surprised to see my Father at the door. Scrambling out of bed, I hastily gave him my greetings and asked him why he was here.

"Have you seen the other guest? She left a while ago, and she still isn't back. Do you know where she is?" His face was creased with concerned wrinkles, and his eyes reflected a legitimate worry. I checked my watch. I felt something akin to ice begin flowing through my veins, freezing my blood and petrifying me as I stared at my watch. It was almost midnight. The sun had been high in the sky when she had left the house. How long had she been gone?

"I'll go look for her." Without thinking, I blurted out those binding words. I was now obliged to set out on a midnight journey to catch up to a girl who could run faster than me.

Something stirred in me as I opened the door. A familiar breeze brushed past me, but I barely noticed.

A single lightning bolt lit up the midnight sky, briefly showering everything in a blinding light. As thunder quickly followed suit, splitting the silence with its deafening blast, the sky began to cry.

Everyone was gone. I had a family. I lost it. I found a new land. I almost destroyed it. I made new friends. I abandoned them. I returned to my home. I was outcasted. I met my last connection to the land of dreams. I rejected her.

As the raindrops began to roll down my face, I noticed something strange. Some of them tasted salty.

I'm sorry.